Army Pfc. Diego M. Montoya

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Diego M. Montoya, 20, of San Antonio

Pfc. Montoya was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; died Sept. 2, 2010 in Laghman province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire.

A San Antonio soldier, Pfc. Diego Montoya, 20, has been killed in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, his family said Friday. Family members said they didn't have many details of Montoya's death, including when he was killed.

Montoya was the 16th area casualty of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The combined area total for Operation Enduring Freedom and the recently ended Operation Iraqi Freedom is 58.

On Friday afternoon, his family members welcomed his grandmother Rosie Thomas and other relatives who drove from the Rio Grande Valley to their Northwest Side home.

His sister Gabriela Montoya, 22, cradled a framed portrait of her brother in uniform, sitting next to her mother, Rosie Guerra, who called her son a hero and a patriot. “He wanted to do this so badly,” she said. “This is what he always wanted to do. I call him my precious son, my precious, precious son.”

His mother is proud of his ultimate sacrifice. Montoya told his family at a very young age that he was wiling to pay the ultimate price to protect our country.... And he did.

His family members said the 2009 Taft High School graduate was a hopeless romantic. They said he had a tough side, reflected by his huge collection of war movies, but, tucked at the end of the gung-ho DVDs was a copy of “High School Musical.”

He was in ROTC while at Taft. His Air Force ROTC instructor, Christian M. Glombik, said talking to Montoya was like talking to a 50-year-old. “When you get to that age, you realize the things that are important to you in life,” Glombik said in his office. “He realized those things very early. He was a young man that was all heart. He definitely believed in core values. His family and friends were important to him, and his word was his bond.”

Glombik said Montoya juggled a part-time job with school and was well liked by fellow cadets. And, Glombik said, he always had his heart set on enlisting in the Army.

On his MySpace page, Montoya listed his military police nickname as Ironman. His codename was Hawkeye. “I'm a soldier in the United States Army, and I'm good at what i do,” he wrote on the page. “I'm a solo guy. Love just doesn't seem to want to meet up with me. Of course my job does get in the way but it shouldnt make a difference. I'm a really cool guy once you take the time to know me. Friends are my downfall. I'd do anything for any of them.”

His favorite song was John Michael Montgomery's “Letters From Home,” about a soldier getting letters from loved ones. That song also resonates with Gabriela Montoya. She drives her brother's black Ford Ranger pickup, and while cleaning the interior recently, she found a surprise — all of the letters she'd written him.

His stepfather, Steve Guerra, told the Monitor in McAllen that Montoya was born in McAllen and raised in Mission, but moved to San Antonio with his family about four years ago.

Montoya was deployed in May and was serving his first tour in northern Afghanistan as a military policeman with the 64th MP Company, Guerra told the Monitor. “He was a great kid,” Guerra said. “He was very dedicated to the Army, and he wanted to be a soldier since as long as I can remember.”

Family members said the soldier's biological father, Michael Montoya, will fly to Delaware to retrieve the body, which is scheduled to arrive this weekend at Dover AFB.

Montoya's awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NATO Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.

Guerra, his mother, plans to escort her son's remains back to the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday but said the military has not provided her details about the arrival time. Visitation will be Thursday night or Friday, depending on when the flight arrives from Delaware.

Ric Brown Family Funeral Home in Mission will provide the funeral services, and he will be buried at Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery, also in Mission. It's the same cemetery where his sister's best friend, Spc. Alex Gonzalez, is buried. Gonzalez was killed in Mosul, Iraq, in 2008.

When Gabriela Montoya cried for her friend, her brother came to her side. “Gavi,” he said, “That man died serving his country. Anytime a man dies for his country, you don't cry.”

Army Pfc. Diego M. Montoya was killed in action on 9/2/10.